Right now, thousands of companies are using corporate blogging as a means of reaching out to new customers. This means that the field is incredibly crowded and getting more so every day. How do you get your blog to stand out from the crowd? It can be complicated at times, but there are several techniques that you can use to make sure that your blog gets noticed and that you beat your competitors.

1. Put a name and a face on your blog.

Don’t make the mistake of anonymous blogging. Many businesses owners make this mistake because they are not willing to put their employees or themselves out in the public eye. The result is a static blog that is boring and unpersonable. You will need to give a name, even if it is just your first name if you want your blog to be successful. A picture is also useful, but if you don’t feel comfortable with that, you’re going to have to use your personality to create that picture in the minds of your readers.

2. Blog about the right topics.

The blogs that get read find a way to mix current events in with their regular company news. The more topics you cover, the better your chances are of being discovered. Read through your competitor’s blogs and see what they are doing. Find out how you can do it better. It’s ok to have a few posts on your blog that may not be directly related to what you do. This helps build up your readership. However, it is important to find some way to relate every post you make to your company or your industry. Otherwise, your readers could get confused.

3. Allow your readers to comment.

It can be pretty scary to open up your blog to comments from your readers. However, this is a risk that pays off by allowing your readers to feel as though they are a part of what you are doing. If you do allow comments, it is alright to moderate them to avoid having a disaster occur, but you should allow some freedom of discussion. Many businesses make the mistake of talking at their readers instead of talking to them. By using comments, you can avoid this common mistake and ensure that your readers will feel that they matter to you.

4. Have fun.

The most common problem that all corporate bloggers face is that their industry may be a bit boring. There is a way to have fun with your posts, stay relevant to your topic and stay professional. If your blog makes you snore, what is it doing to your readers. Change it up every now and again and keep it lighthearted.

In order to avoid many of these pitfalls, it is a good idea to work with someone that is familiar with blog management. You’ll be able to get the benefit of their expertise and they can help you leverage your blog for success.

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Originally posted 2008-07-16 05:05:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Although corporate blogging can be a powerful tool, there is a time when it can get pretty dicey. Without proper management, a blog can be a disaster that can end up ruining your corporate image. Let’s take a look at three examples of the good, bad and ugly in the world of corporate blogging.

The Good

A good corporate blog finds the balance between being personable and professional. This is a juggling act, but when it’s done right, the result is a successful blog that builds a solid relationship with the public. The best example of a good corporate blog is Sun Microsystems. They’ve allowed their employees as well as management to post blogs on anything under the sun and the result has been terrific in the blogging community. Readers feel connected with the company and they can now put faces with a big corporation. This company has long been a leader in the corporate blogging world and they are a very good example to emulate.

The Bad

Walmart is a terrific example of corporate blogging gone bad. They set up a blog that was supposed to be written by a couple that was traveling the US in an RV and staying at Walmarts. The only thing that was not mentioned was that Walmart was sponsoring this as a corporate blog – not as a personal endeavor as the creators originally claimed. The blogosphere soon found out and the result was scorn. This did not do Walmart’s image any favors and they quickly retired the blog in question and have not made any new overtures.

A lot can be learned from this debacle. Never try to masquerade a corporate blog as anything but a corporate blog. It will backfire.

The Ugly

Earthlink’s blog is perhaps the most notorious. The company already has customer service issues and a lot of ill will already. When they debuted the blog, they were opening themselves up to a whole new host of problems. First, they didn’t allow comments, then they did, then they didn’t and the cycle continued. The posts ended up addressing constant controversy instead of addressing any key issues for the company. They simply could not surmount these obstacles and the blog was eventually cancelled.

For this lesson – make a decision and stick to it. Otherwise you look wishy washy. If you have trouble with customer service, a blog may not be the best idea. Don’t open your company up to problems right off the bat if you are concerned that the blog will turn into a public bashing forum for your company. This was a bad decision on the part of Earthlink and one that they undoubtedly regretted. Instead of fixing their image, they ended up reinforcing bad publicity.

The best way to ensure that your corporate blog joins the ranks of The Good in blogging is to work with a management company that can help you navigate the treacherous waters of blogging. With their help, you can avoid falling into The Bad or The Ugly categories.

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Originally posted 2008-08-08 05:16:46. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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For those thinking about starting a corporate blog, there are a few caveats that should be considered before you ever throw your hat in the arena. The blogosphere can be a scary place if you are not prepared and it is easy to have a disaster of epic proportions on your hands without even realizing it. There are numerous stories of corporate blogging disasters and while they can be amusing, the owners of the companies affected probably would not agree.

A corporate blog is a unique tool that allows you to reach out to the public, increase brand awareness and build up your customer base. It is also a tool that has the potential to cause irreparable damage. You don’t want your blog to go down in flames, and you certainly don’t want it to take your company with it. Here are some tips to help you avoid the most common blogging disasters.

1. Pick your bloggers well.

If you will not be doing your own blogging, this usually means that the task falls to an employee. You will need to make sure that they are well balanced, can handle criticism and can post in an articulate and friendly manner. Think of this blogger as a public speaker – would they present the right face for your company to the public?

You also need to make sure that the employee is a stable individual that is not prone to bursts of anger or being disgruntled. You don’t want your company’s dirty laundry aired to the world and it only takes one angry blogger to turn the tide against you. If you end up firing a blogger, make sure that you remove their posting capabilities BEFORE you do so that they don’t have a chance to post one last burning missive.

2. Be consistent.

If you decide to allow comments on your blog, great. Just don’t change your mind. This gives an incredibly bad image of your company and makes it seem as though you have something to hide. Likewise, refusing to allow comments on your blog can give the same impression. Find the balance by using comment moderation tools to weed out bad comments and let the good ones through.

3. Always remain professional.

Your corporate blog is not the place to get overly personal. You may be having a bad day, you may hate your job, you may want to stick it to your spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend but your corporate blog is not the place to air these subjects. Always keep your private thoughts private – they just don’t belong on your blog. Keep your posts friendly and open, but make sure that you never cross that line.

By utilizing these three simple rules, you can avoid becoming a blogging disaster for the history books. If you have never blogged before, or you prefer not to leave your company’s future in the hands of an employee, it is a good idea to get some help with your blog. There are blog management services that specialize in helping you present the right image and get your message across.

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Originally posted 2008-07-15 05:25:42. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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In today’s current business world, the media is more savvy than ever and so are consumers. This has led many companies to adopt a full disclosure policy on their corporate blogs. Is this policy right for you? Let’s look at a few of the upsides and downsides of full disclosure.

Upsides

1. Public perceives your company as honest.

Everyone loves it when a company owns up to mistakes, takes the high road and is brutally honest about their business deals. It is always refreshing to see a company that is willing to take that risk to be more open with the public and share what is really going on inside.

2. All press is good press.

Blogs that deal with full disclosure typically get lots of traffic and they are able to quickly generate a lot of buzz. This is really only useful if there is a way to turn what they are talking about into a positive light, but overall, when it comes to getting attention, full disclosure usually gets the job done.

Downsides

1. Is brutal honesty always the best policy?

If your company just took a major financial hit, does the public really need to know about it? One of the main problems with adopting a full disclosure stance is that it can really hurt you when things get tough. It’s one thing to say that the company is going through a rough patch, it’s quite another to get into details. This hurts your bottom line, and if you have investors, they may not appreciate your honesty with the public, especially if it affects your stock prices.

2. Bad reputations take only a few seconds to make.

It can take years to build up an image of corporate responsibility, but trashing your company’s image can only take a few seconds. Full disclosure often means talking about things that put your company into a decidedly unflattering light. If you feel your company can rise above that, terrific, but some companies never recover after a blogging disaster.

Weighing All the Options

Now that we’ve gone over the good and bad side of full disclosure, it’s time to get really serious and think about how it could affect your company. Do you have investors? If you do, this is probably not the best policy for your corporate blog. The risks far outweigh any benefits.

Is your company fairly new and so far scandal proof? In this case, then a full disclosure policy can help build a solid reputation around your company and present it in a good light. You may change your mind however the instant the first bad piece of news hits the press.

Lastly, what do you want people to think of when your company name comes up? If you don’t want the latest blogging fiasco to be at the tip of everyone’s tongue, a little mystique is probably a good thing. Blogging is a balance, and it’s up to you to decide how much information you want to reveal.

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Originally posted 2008-08-18 05:09:40. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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If you were one of the early adopters of corporate blogging, or if you are on the fence about whether or not it is a solid form or promotion, recent statistics show that more companies than ever are getting their feet wet and beginning to take blogging seriously. What does this mean for the small business blogger or those that are trying to dominate their niche? There has never been a better time to get established and to do it quickly.

Although market flooding is certainly a long way off in the future, as corporate blogging becomes more acceptable, it is only a matter of time before the majority of big name companies give it a try. While all will not be successful, they have the power of promotion behind them that the little guys do not. This doesn’t mean that you should give up however, in fact, this should be the impetus you need to get your blog started today, not tomorrow.

Why is corporate blogging going mainstream?

Many believe that this is due to the fact that it is a powerful medium, at least when utilized correctly. There are plenty of disaster stories out there of corporate blogs gone bad, but there are far more success stories that are fueling the fire. Even some of the oldest companies in the world are now trying their hands at corporate blogging and it is paying off generously.

One of the main reasons that corporate blogging is so effective, and is growing in popularity so quickly is that it gives companies the rare opportunity to personally reach out to their customers and grow their businesses. While overt pitches and shady dealings are quickly discovered, it’s the solid blog owners, that keep posting every day and giving quality information are rising to the top.

Dominating a niche is important no matter what business you’re in, and a corporate blog can accomplish this in many different ways. First and foremost, from an SEO point of view, you are creating hundreds of pages of optimized content that can be indexed and ranked. If you do this correctly, you can easily dominate the first few pages of results for your keywords.

You can also dominate a niche by establishing your company as the authority, before your competitors do. We highly recommend that business owners do some research into what their competitors are doing. If they aren’t blogging yet, that is the perfect time to reach out and grab an audience before someone else does. There are millions of blogs out there, and more are created every day, and for those that don’t want to get swept under the carpet, taking the time to establish that authority now will definitely pay off in the future.

The face of corporate blogging will continue to evolve and change, but for now, it is clear that it is going mainstream and before long, the majority of companies will be taking advantage of it in one way or another.

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Originally posted 2008-12-01 05:37:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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